Royal Clarence Hotel
| Royal Clarence Hotel | |
|---|---|
The hotel in 2015
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| Former names |
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| General information | |
| Type | Hotel |
| Address | Cathedral Yard |
| Town or city | Exeter |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 50°43′24″N 3°31′49″W / 50.72333°N 3.53028°WCoordinates: 50°43′24″N 3°31′49″W / 50.72333°N 3.53028°W |
| Named for | Adelaide, Duchess of Clarence |
| Opened | 1769 |
| Closed | 28 October 2016 |
| Demolished | November 2016 |
| Owner | Andrew Brownsword Hotels |
| Designations | Grade II listed |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 53 bedrooms |
| Website | |
| www |
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The Royal Clarence Hotel was a hotel in Cathedral Yard, Exeter, Devon, England. It was credited as the first property in England to be called a hotel. Since 2005 the 53-bedroom hotel was branded as ABode Exeter. The building was destroyed by fire in October 2016.
The hotel was built in 1769 as the Assembly Rooms by William Mackworth Praed, a son of William Mackworth Praed (died 1752). He also developed the adjacent building on the corner of Martin's Lane for the Exeter Bank, of which he was one of the founding members, with John Duntze, Joseph Sanders and Daniel Hamilton.
The hotel provided "a commodious room for holding public balls, assemblies, concerts, &c.". In September 1770, an advertisement for the property was placed by its French manager, Pierre Berton, describing it as an "hôtel". By 1776, it was known as The Hotel. It subsequently took various names, including the Cadogen Hotel, Thompsons Hotel, and Phillips Hotel. In 1806, it was described as:
a large and commodious Inn, with elegant apartments and accommodation for people of the first Quality, with a large assembly-room in which are held the Assize Balls, Concerts and Winter assemblies, of the most distinguished persons of the City and County. In the front is a neat Coffee-room: the situation of the Hotel is very pleasant, as it opens to the Parade, and commands a noble view of the Cathedral.
The hotel was one of the leading coaching inns in Exeter. It was visited by Admiral Nelson in 1801, and was renamed as the Royal Clarence Hotel after a visit by Adelaide, Duchess of Clarence in July 1827. Franz Liszt performed with six other musicians in two concerts at the hotel on 28 and 29 August 1840 (a blue plaque on the building, erected by Exeter Civic Society in 2013, commemorated that event). Other visitors included Beatrix Potter in 1892, Thomas Hardy in 1915, and actors Clark Gable and Gary Cooper during the Second World War.
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